New Report on Energy Storage Explains Opportunities and Challenges

A new report from the Clean Energy Group is a great primer on how activists and foundations can champion battery storage to recharge the Clean Energy Transition.

It discusses a top-ten list of reasons to champion battery storage, and also puts the rapidly evolving battery markets in perspective with solar, wind, long-term storage, and electricity transmission and distribution.

“This report is for activists and foundations who want to understand how battery storage can become a new part of their clean energy and climate advocacy. It is designed to explain the many emerging economic, equity, and environmental trends for battery storage use across all elements of the energy system.

“It argues that activists and foundations need creative new strategies to advocate for battery storage in these changing markets.

“It tries to answer two basic questions for advocates and foundations: what do we need to know to understand these opportunities, and what actions should we support to realize them?

“These are not theoretical concerns. Clean Energy Group (CEG) has been involved in energy storage policy from the public-interest perspective for the last five years.”

More quotes:

“Several of the big trends in clean electricity depend, in one way or another, on batteries. How fast batteries get better and cheaper will help determine how fast renewable energy grows, how fast fossil fuel power plants get shut down, and how fast the vehicle fleet electrifies.” David Roberts, Vox

“We have prepared this handbook to synthesize and share our knowledge about battery storage policies and our experience working on these market development issues.”

“If clean energy and climate activists and their funders do not develop a strategic focus on battery storage, they will miss what could be this generation’s greatest clean energy opportunity.”

The world’s leading technology consultant, McKinsey, now says battery storage is the “next disruptive technology in the power sector.” According to a 2017 report, “low-cost storage could transform the power landscape.”

“Solar-only systems might bring about some reductions in energy bills due to less consumption of grid power, but they will do nothing to reduce demand charges or provide resiliency if the power goes out.”

“The models, as can be expected, often predict excessively high future costs for storage based on current costs, therefore pricing out the potential for storage and renewables to compete against baseload plants.”